The English couple, I met in Porto, looked fragrant
and demurely, she wore a flowery dress and he
wore a white shirt and flannel trousers; and both
both sported a discreet tan. Clearly they didn´t
belong to the Algarve beach hugging masses who
must have deep tan to prove they have been on
holiday. It struck me they were erudite middleclass
liberals, the types that read and often comments
in “The Guardian”. I asked them if that was so,
they made a joke of it, which is an English way of
hiding ones embarrassment; we parted smilingly,
but I think I was right even though I served my
inquiry with an after taste of satire and with a light
touch of expensive red wine.